1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a workpiece takeout system, a robot apparatus, and a method for producing a to-be-processed material.
2. Discussion of the Background
In workpiece takeout systems, robot arms are used to take out workpieces (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-115930).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-115930 discloses a workpiece takeout system in which a robot arm takes out a plurality of workpieces disposed in a stocker. The workpiece takeout system includes a sensor unit (disposed-state detector) to pick up an image of an area (in the stocker) in which a plurality of workpieces are disposed, thereby detecting disposed states (such as position and posture) of the plurality of workpieces disposed in the stocker. The robot arm is driven to take out one workpiece selected from the plurality of workpieces based on information of the disposed states detected by the sensor unit.
Some of the conventional workpiece takeout systems, including the one recited in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-115930, accommodate to using a plurality of stockers from which to take out workpieces sequentially. Presumably, this is implemented such that every time one workpiece is taken out from a different stocker among the plurality of stockers, the robot arm is deactivated in order for a three-dimensional measurement unit to detect disposed states of workpieces disposed in another stocker targeted for the next workpiece takeout operation.